Trump Pressed On Reopening the Strait of Hormuz Says ‘I Don’t Think About It’

 

(Mark Schiefelbein/AP photo)

President Donald Trump told New York Post White House correspondent Steve Nelson on Tuesday that he doesn’t “think about” reopening the Strait of Hormuz and that the war in Iran will likely be over soon.

“We’re not going to be there too much longer. We’re obliterating the s–t out of them right now,” Trump told Nelson in a phone interview.

“It’s a total obliteration. But we won’t have to be there much longer — but we have more work to do in terms of killing their offensive, whatever offensive capability they have left,” Trump added as he is reportedly weighing whether or not to send troops into Iran to either capture Kharg Island or secure uranium in the country.

Nelson asked Trump about the Wall Street Journal report from earlier in the day, saying he is considering ending the war before forcing Iran to reopen to the Strait of Hormuz, a key global energy hub.

“Well, I think it’ll automatically open, but my attitude is, I’ve obliterated the country. They have no strength left, and let the countries that are using the strait, let them go and open it… because I would imagine whoever’s controlling the oil will be very happy to open the strait,” Trump replied, adding:

I don’t think about it, to be honest. My sole function was to make sure that they don’t have a nuclear weapon. They’re not going to have a nuclear weapon. When we leave the strait will automatically open.

Nelson also asked Trump about the video he posted of massive explosions in the Iranian city of Ishfahan from the night before. “I’d rather not say, but you’ll learn soon enough. They were rather large, weren’t they?” Trump said, refusing to detail exactly what was targeted and how successful the strikes were. Trump added:

It’ll come out, but it was just another one of their wonderful areas that we took care of. That was a beauty. That was a beauty. That was stuff that we blew up. That was some explosion.

“It was actually bigger than we thought, meaning they had a lot of stuff. Well, we’re taking away their nuclear capability, and we’ve achieved regime change. You know, we’re dealing right now with a totally different group of people, and they’re much more reasonable than previous, much more reasonable,” Trump concluded.

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Alex Griffing is a Senior Editor at Mediaite. Send tips via email: alexanderg@mediaite.com. Follow him on Twitter: @alexgriffing